tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30795590532900945652017-12-26T23:36:44.375-05:00Distracting From The NowHistory is easy because it is all done and nothing to worry about.The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.comBlogger325125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-58187561769741520332017-12-26T23:36:00.001-05:002017-12-26T23:36:44.752-05:00On The Beach
Published in 1957, 'On the Beach' was one of the first novels to try to imagine and portray the aftermath of a global nuclear conflict. The bleakness of the future of the survivors near Melbourne, Australia as the deadly cloud of radioactive fallout makes its way from the Northern Hemisphere to eventually blanket the southern had such an emotional impact on readers that it gave rise to theThe Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-64595856611129903322017-12-09T23:08:00.000-05:002017-12-09T23:08:11.488-05:00Swan Song
Carrying on my quest to see which science fiction writers got closer to predicting the end of the world, while the threat of another catastrophic war hangs over the world. I see some writers still hope that King Arthur is still sleeping in a hill somewhere and will rise up and smite our enemies. Or Jesus. Wittekind. Siegfried. Someone. Aliens. Anyone?
It might not be fair to call Swan The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-84543187483623845762017-01-16T15:04:00.001-05:002017-01-16T15:05:19.022-05:00The Speculated Aftermath of Global Nuclear War
I could go on about literary allusions in 'A Canticle for Leibowitz' which would be fun but I want to discuss his predictions about our future. While I was growing up, the threat of nuclear annihilation hung over us all. The nukes are still here but the powers that held them seemed to realize that there was no winning a nuclear engagement. So the Iron Curtain fell, Russia became if, not an The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-23235069026889879482017-01-14T15:55:00.001-05:002017-01-14T15:55:41.313-05:00Review - A Canticle For Leibowitz
I cannot believe I never heard of this book before a couple of days ago. It is brilliant. I don't even understand the criticism that the part in the middle Fiat Lux is plodding.
The book is divided into three sections, Fiat Homo (Let there be man), Fiat Lux (Let there be light), and Fiat Voluntas Tua (Let your will be done).
Fiat Homo is about a small monastery in a desert The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-57508638938961137362017-01-12T11:10:00.000-05:002017-01-12T11:10:39.635-05:00Looking To The Future
I have always enjoyed reading Science Fiction. My undergraduate alma mater carried a course on Science Fiction (which is often sneered at in literary circles as not really literature). The head of the English department was looking at my transcript once and noted the course with surprise and delight. Surprise, most likely, because I was planning to major in Medieval Studies, and delight, The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-351799344875064402017-01-04T22:36:00.002-05:002017-01-04T22:36:54.776-05:00Porro Omnes Fulgemus
It has been a while since I have done anything in Latin so I have decided it was time for a 'Beatles' song translated. I heard this on the radio yesterday and wondered how it would sound it Latin (as one does). Did my best. Modern colloquial English does not translate well into Classical Latin.
Answer will be in the column on the right.
Porro omnes fulgemus
Statim Erinyes te puniturae suntThe Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-7063756783136403762014-12-10T11:57:00.003-05:002014-12-10T11:57:42.536-05:00The First Execution by Electrocution
I am distracted by articles completely unrelated to my research subject when I am poking through old newspapers, like the headline in the August 14, 1890 Barrie Examiner which caught my eye "Execution by Electricity". It would appear as though the first execution by these means was not a success, the editor declines to describe the details of what went wrong but simply states they are The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-72744656452882290242014-10-29T09:24:00.001-04:002014-10-29T09:24:46.368-04:00Ravens and Ash
It has been a while since I translated a story from the Gesta Romanorum or The Deeds of the Romans.
Here is story #110 About Ash and Ravens:
"The philosopher reads in a book about animals that if one wishes to make it so that a raven, after it has built a nest in a tree, is never able to hatch chicks from its eggs, one should place ashes of glass (?) among the trees and, while those ashes The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-53610339045513568032014-10-28T19:12:00.000-04:002014-10-28T19:12:35.319-04:00Ned Myers and the Sinking of the Scourge
Ned Myers was born in Quebec in c.1793, the son of a British soldier. He had no recollections of his mother and little memory of his father. When the father was sent to serve in Halifax, Ned and his sister went along. There they were abandoned. Myers did not know what became of his father except that he was re-assigned to another location and left without taking his children with him. It The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-64158203191190202012014-09-16T18:09:00.001-04:002014-09-17T08:55:45.449-04:00Postage Stamp Commemorating Captain Worsley's Deeds on Lake Huron
I visited the Nancy Island Museum this summer. It is the 200th anniversary of the burning of the HMS Nancy in the Nottawasaga River. I did not go for any of the historical re-enactments because the truth is stretched far too much in those re-enactments to make me happy. It is rather like trying to get me to say the Lord of the Rings trilogy on film is a great adaptation of the novels. I The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-1571819112207776182014-08-22T12:48:00.000-04:002014-08-22T12:48:21.753-04:00Eat this! Mmmmmmmm!
The February 6, 1832 Hampshire Telegraph was reporting on a duel between two lawyers over a case that had recently been tried in London. It was interesting but just below it was an even more interesting story.
At the Queen Square Police station, a case had been heard about a dispute of wages between a master butcher and his journeyman. Part of the evidence heard was that the two had The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-12318311703253394372014-08-19T20:42:00.000-04:002014-08-19T20:42:35.336-04:00The Sailor and the Princess
One finds the most extraordinary stories in old newspapers. I spotted an article in the August 4, 1834 Hampshire Telegraph about the captain of an American whaling ship the Erie who had married a princess. The captain was from Newport on the Isle of Wight, hence the interest from the Telegraph, but they seem to have gotten the name of the kingdom wrong. They identified her as being from The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-51450668404381329762014-05-15T16:06:00.000-04:002014-05-15T16:06:27.779-04:00The Circus Comes to Town (1891)
Found this ad in the Orillia Packet. It must have been quite a show - a $30,000 parade for such a small town financed by a 50 cent ticket. The biblical spectacle must be a pious way of featuring dancing girls since it includes the Queen of Sheba and - a Roman Hippodrome and three monster menageries!!
The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-28614045606733657362014-05-11T23:01:00.000-04:002014-05-11T23:01:15.727-04:00Canadians! Look Out For the Man-Stealers.
This was one of the headlines in the September 24, 1847 Barrie Magnet newspaper under a column called Colonial Items. Also in bold letters was the phrase 'IMPORTANT SLAVE CASE'. The article relates to an escaped slave case that began with a slave by the name of Brown who had been murdered by his owner Mr. Somerville of Maryland. Mr. Somerville was later also the victim of murder and the The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-40818714093879066172014-05-02T12:16:00.001-04:002014-05-02T12:16:18.268-04:001956 News from the Elmvale Lance
Spring makes people want to clean up their houses, garages, basements and sheds but what to do with all that garbage? As I drive around the countryside, I see that for many people the solution is to drive to the nearest farm and pitch it into the ditch by the side of the road. People use all kinds of excuses for that behaviour, such as they resent having to purchase tags for additional The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-49428738268084506772014-03-15T21:23:00.000-04:002014-03-15T21:27:49.965-04:00Martello Towers
I discovered Martello Towers years ago on a trip to the east coast of Canada. We were heading for the Saint John to Digby ferry and arrived a little early in the evening with nothing to do. So I suggested we go and check out the Carleton Martello Tower. I saw a sign for it pointing up the hill and I was wondering what it was. Since it was evening the tower was closed, but I was able to come The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-9464158890447448582014-03-08T11:45:00.000-05:002014-03-08T11:48:26.616-05:00Henry Scadding's House
I always knew about Holy Trinity Church, an old church that survived the building of the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto by being incorporated into the plans. The centre went up and the church was preserved where it stood but it is close to the walls of the mall. The Toronto library has some amazing photos of the church including one that shows the little cluster of buildings and a huge The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-44580088138539291232014-03-05T11:12:00.000-05:002014-03-05T11:12:32.536-05:0040 Days of Lent
One of my favorite books on Medieval History is Clifford Backman's The Worlds of Medieval Europe. He wrote about fasting for Lent:
" A fellow named Macarius of Alexandria, for example, once tried to stand upright in prayer, nonstop throughout the entire forty day season of Lent, while eating nothing but cabbage leaves (Presumably the gas he produced helped keep him aloft.)"
Love a historian The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-63714439716808082432014-03-01T16:41:00.000-05:002014-03-01T16:42:39.622-05:00Whitby Company, Part II
page 2 of Ely Playter's diary listing the men in the Whitby Company of the 3rd Regiment of the York Militia.
# Names rank arms and nature of remarks
musket/fusil /rifle
24 John W. Covel private
25 Phestus C Wolf " 1The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-51681869793713960052014-02-22T15:29:00.000-05:002014-02-22T15:31:24.273-05:00Muster Roll of the Whitby Company
I have decided to come back and use the blog again since someone appears to be attempting to hijack the account. Rather than delete all of my articles, which I am sure someone out there is enjoying, I am going to also write about Canadian history. I have been spending a large amount of time sifting through various archival collections and I have found many gems that would be great to share The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-34493290287138624012013-09-11T11:40:00.000-04:002013-09-11T11:40:00.853-04:00Taking a Break
It will probably seen as though I have abandoned this blog since I have not updated it in six weeks. I have been working with Canadian heritage and history (I know, something for which I have been fully trained) and I do not want to write about that on a blog about the middle ages.
Perhaps I should create a new blog for history and literature with no particular time period. I have been doing The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-83542012910162643532013-07-31T22:25:00.002-04:002013-09-11T11:31:09.118-04:00American Gods- A Review
Author: Neil Gaiman
A friend recommended this book to me because it features the Norse gods as characters. The premise is that when Europeans (and other undocumented peoples from other parts of the world) started coming to North America, they brought their gods with them. They offered sacrifices and prayers to their gods for a safe voyage home and left an incarnation of the god or goddess,The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-7070699275609995472013-07-27T16:32:00.002-04:002013-07-27T16:32:46.626-04:00Isidore, Chapter Six
In the 406th era, during the fifth year of the reign of Valens, Athanaricus I took up the governing of the Gothic people, ruling for 13 years, whom, having been moved to a very cruel persecution of the faithful, wanted to train himself against Goths, who had taken up Christianity among his people. Those out of the many, who would not agree to offer sacrifices to idols, he made martyrs. MoreoverThe Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-84750800365562032182013-07-22T18:18:00.000-04:002013-07-22T18:18:29.393-04:00Isidore, Chapter Five
[Spanish unit of time] Era 364, the Goths, having attacked the region of the Sarmatians in the 26th year of the rule of the emperor Constantinus, rushed against the Romans in the fertile fields, laying waste to all with overwhelming strength, sword and plundering. Against whom, Constantinus, himself, heroically took charge of the battle and scarcely was able to push the battle out beyond the The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3079559053290094565.post-49535761309626552022013-07-20T23:09:00.002-04:002013-07-20T23:09:47.985-04:00Isidore's History, Chapter Four
[Spanish] Era 295, during the first year of the rule of Valerian and Gallien, the Goths having descending from the mountains of the Alps, which they were inhabiting, laid waste to Greece, Macedonia, Pontus, Asia and Illyricus. They held Illyricus and Macedonia scarcely 15 years. From there, having been vanquished by the Emperor Claudius, they sought a suitable homeland. The Romans placed a The Red Witchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11731703967439763663noreply@blogger.com2